Egypt’s Mubarak Announces He Will Not Run For Re-Election

CAIRO — President Hosni Mubarak announced that he would not run for another term in elections scheduled for the fall appearing on state television to promise an orderly transition but he would serve out his term. In comments translated by CNN, he swore that he would die in Egypt.

Television cameras showed the vast crowds gathered in central Tahrir Square in Cairo roaring, but not necessarily in approval. The protesters have has made the president’s immediate and unconditional resignation a bedrock demand of their movement, and it did not appear that the concession would mollify them.

Mr. Mubarak’s announcement came after President Obama urged him not to run, effectively withdrawing American support for its closest Arab ally, according to American diplomats in Cairo and Washington.

The message was delivered by Frank G. Wisner, a seasoned envoy with deep ties to Egypt, the American diplomats said. Mr. Wisner’s message, they said, was not a blunt demand for Mr. Mubarak to step aside now, but rather firm counsel that he should make way for a reform process that would culminate in free and fair elections in September to elect a new Egyptian leader.